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Mages
Mages are one of the default races that you can select when you join Elysium by clicking the red block at Dunta. Once Humans, far back in their history Mages were transformed into a new and separate race by magic and became a great civilization of their own. They usually distinguish themselves by wearing Mage robes, traditional to their culture and important as a uniform to identify themselves to each other. Summary Mages, like Vampires, are creatures of another race - in this case humans - who have been altered by a specific magical event. Mages came to be by accessing the power of Elysium's first inhabitants, the Dragons. Unfortunately, following their alteration, people feared them, which lead to the outbreak of war, bringing about a chain of events that ultimately led to the formation of an Order known as the Archive. It acted as a giant knowledge gathering syndicate, keeping Mages in check with training and tasks, to keep them occupied. By the present Age of Elysium, the Order is believed to have died out. Mages these days in Elysium are spread out and most are not well trained, but those that are make deadly foes. Origins During the First Age of Elysium, Dragons wandered the realm. Incredibly powerful beings who were said to be able to command the elements with words alone, when they died they left deposits of intensely concentrated magic. Humans, a race with little or no magical skill of their own, who came into contact with these Dragon remains, were altered by their encounter and naturally began to develop magical abilities. These were altered so much from their original, natural state, that they are bestowed with a new race name of their own, the Mages. Gathering together in a region now far beyond the known borders of Elysium, the Mages initially built up for themselves a unique civilization based purely around the pursuit of magic and its knowledge. In their isolation, interacting only with Dragons and barely hearing of the existence of other races, many different city states rose and fell within its scope as Mage culture became more refined and detailed. When disruption within the Dragons' tribal ranks stirred insurrection and shifting alliances, leading to the Dragon Wars, the disruption drove many Mages to look outward, both individually and collectively, equipped with the power and knowledge they had acquired, to explore into the rest of the realm. Many Mages, and those humans who wished to become so, sought out fresh Dragons to fight and kill, knowing that if they were in proximity to the creature when it died, a portion of its magic would be transferred from the Dragon to themselves. This was a dangerous venture, for the ancient Dragons were so powerful even an experienced Mage could not guarantee whether it was the Dragon or them who would emerge from the battle with their life. Dragon War Upon their exploration of Elysium, with the Dragon War in full flame setting Light Dragons against Dark, the Mages were their primary allies on both sides. Of the most famous of the Mages that served in the Dragon Wars was the Arch Mage Loris, who served as deputy general to Drakon the leader of the Dragons of the Light. It was from his guidance that the Light Dragons were mostly victorious, until the death of Drakon at the hands of Bryagh, the Dark Dragon leader. At Drakon's death the great beast's own forces scattered, leaving Loris and the Mages in the position of being forced to flee as well, much of the strength of his Mages had been dependent on the Dragons' proximity and without them they were weakened. Mages had learned how to utilize the power of the great wyrms around them in battle, and had become increasingly adept and powerful in their skill, but a large portion of their power was dependent on the presence of Dragons within their army ranks, and as the war, - and some Mages' hunger for greater power via slaying the lizards - depleted the Dragons in number, the Mages as a race were left weakened and fragmented. Order of the Archive Now having entered the currently known regions of Elysium, the Mages had become so powerful that many of the other races in the realm began to fear them and fight against them. Many encountered Mages without any prior knowledge of them and found these strangers and their power intimidating. Fear of magic spread across the population, and another great war took place, between those among the many races and nations who were in favor of magic, and those that opposed it. In order to prevent Elysium from devolving into prolonged war and chaos, a group of Mages created an Order to discipline and guide their brethren who had headed out into the wider realm, and pull them back under a centralize control within these new regions. During this more peaceful period they wandered Elysium, searching for knowledge and lore which would help them utilize and control their powers, creating a vast library of knowledge known as the Archive. Initially, the Order of the Archive maintained discipline among Mages, under the leadership of their wisest and most powerful member known as the Arch Mage. However, many of the earliest Mages to go out from their civilization to explore Elysium, were opportunists, so undisciplined and greedy for power that they hunted the Dragons almost to extinction. In the countless years since the Archive was made, and the Order brought under its guidance, many wars and intrigues had passed resulting in the Archive being lost, and with no Arch Mage to come forth to lead the disparate Mages as one group, the mages have fractured and the location of their earliest civilization is unknown. Most wander Elysium independently, as they did before, seeking to learn what they can and gather power to themselves. Features Mages were initially humans, their magical skills give them longevity, but do not prevent them from dying of old age. New Mages can be created when a person encounters a Dragon or the remains of a Dragon. However, as Dragons are now rare and most of the remains have been long since discovered, changing into a Mage via this method is hard, and also dangerous. While it is possible for other races to have been imbued with a Dragon's power upon exposure, most Mages of other races came into being via inter-breeding, or by devoting themselves to studying under the guidance of a Mage. Upon completing their training they may be bestowed with the title Mage as an honorary recognition of their skill. Most Mages wear robes that denote which branch of magic they study, sometimes even down to which element they specialize in controlling. Physically, they are as strong or weak as a Human can be, few are strong physical fighters as they devote themselves to studying magic rather than arms, but their magical abilities often make them powerful opponents. Most mages specialize in a specific field of magic, often built around an element, such as the magic of fire, ice, water, light, or air. Mages generally will be vulnerable to the magic that sits in opposition to their own, For example, Light Mages may have weak resistance to Dark Magic, and vice versa, and Ice Magic would be vulnerable to Fire Magic, and so on. Mages can be both good or evil depending partly upon which powers they seek to utilize, but mostly how they apply their skills. While a Mage can specialize in a specific lore, but almost all Mages actively seek new knowledge and are eager to learn new and diverse skills. If a non-Mage were to encounter a Dragon that had survived since the earliest Ages, it is more probable that they would be destroyed by the battle than be changed into a Mage themselves, as their flesh would be burnt away, leaving them as a Wither. While a large group of warriors may survive such an encounter, they are unlikely to be imbued with Mage powers and they would be lucky to escape with their lives. __FORCETOC__ Category:Races Category:Base Races Category:Magic Category:Lore